The Serpent Still Whispers

I would like to tell you that I’m shocked Eve took that first bite of forbidden fruit.

I mean, she literally lived in Paradise.

Her husband never forgot to take out the trash or tell her she was beautiful. She took daily strolls with God in a garden so stunning that I don't think even my wildest imagination could do it justice.

And yet, she took the bite.

I’m not shocked, though.

All I have to do is look at my own reflection in my makeup mirror and I know I probably would have done the very same thing.

The truth is, the serpent used a tactic in the garden that still works today.

He combined lies with fear.

And if we aren't careful, we can find ourselves listening to the same whispers Eve heard thousands of years ago.

Did God Really Say?

Genesis 3 begins with the serpent asking Eve a seemingly innocent question:

“Did God actually say…?”

That's where it started.

Not with a command.

Not with an obvious lie.

With a question.

The serpent wanted Eve to question what God had said.

Eve explained that they were allowed to eat from all the trees except one and that’s when the serpent began weaving his lies into the truth.

He essentially told her, God isn't really looking out for you.

He's holding something back.

He doesn't want you to be like Him.

He doesn't want you to have what you could have.

In other words:

Maybe God's way isn't actually the best way.

Sound familiar?

I can almost hear Eve's thoughts.

What if the serpent is right?

What if God really doesn't want what's best for me?

What if I spend my whole life obeying Him and end up missing out on something?

Before she even realized what was happening, she had taken one small bite.

One bite changed the destiny of the human race.

Before she could even swallow, perfect fellowship with God had been broken.

The Lie Behind the Lie

I've taken a few bites of forbidden fruit myself.

Not literal fruit, thankfully.

However, I have made choices I knew weren't God's best because somewhere along the way, I believed a lie.

And I've noticed something about the enemy's lies.

They're rarely completely random.

They're usually designed to make us question God's character.

Can I really trust Him?

Does He really know what's best for me?

Is He really listening?

Does He really care?

Wouldn't I be happier if I just did things my way?

If Satan can convince us that God isn't good, we will eventually stop trusting Him.

And when we stop trusting God, disobedience doesn't seem quite so dangerous.

That's exactly what happened in the garden.

The serpent didn't just tempt Eve to eat fruit.

He tempted her to distrust the God who had given her everything.

And he still does the same thing today.

The Serpent Still Whispers

His words may sound different now, but the message hasn't changed much.

“God isn't listening to your prayers. Take matters into your own hands.”

But Scripture says:

“But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary and they shall walk and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31

Waiting is hard.

Sometimes the waiting can feel like it is draining every ounce of strength we have.

But God's silence is not the same thing as God's absence.

He is still working.

“I know God's Word says not to do this, but it won't really matter. Just follow your heart.”

But Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

Our feelings are real, but they aren't always reliable.

There will be times when what we feel like doing conflicts with what God has already said.

When that happens, we don't need to rewrite God's Word to fit our feelings.

We need to bring our feelings under the authority of His Word.

“You've gone too far. God can't forgive you. You're worthless to Him.”

But Romans 8:38–39 tells us that nothing—not death or life, things present or things to come, or anything else in all creation—can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Nothing.

Not your past.

Not your worst mistake.

Not the thing you're most ashamed of.

Not even the sin you're still struggling to overcome.

The enemy wants you hiding in shame. God wants you running to Him in repentance.

You are not meant to live in defeat.

“God doesn't have time for you. He has bigger things to worry about.”

Really?

The God who knows the number of hairs on your head doesn't have time for you?

The God who tells us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us isn't interested in the details of your life?

The enemy would love for us to believe that.

But Scripture tells us something very different.

God is not distant and disinterested.

He is personal.

He knows you.

He sees you.

He hears you.

He cares about you.

Don't Argue With the Serpent

One of the things that stands out to me in Genesis 3 is how the conversation with the serpent unfolded.

Eve knew what God had said.

Instead of holding tightly to God's Word, though, she began entertaining the serpent's question.

And eventually, the lie sounded more believable than the truth.

That is a warning for us.

You cannot replace God's truth with your feelings and expect the enemy's lies to get quieter.

The more we listen to the serpent, the more convincing his voice can become.

That's why we have to know God's Word.

Not just know about it.

Know it well enough that when a lie shows up, we recognize it.

When the enemy says, God has forgotten you, we answer with truth.

When he says, You are too far gone, we answer with truth.

When he says, You have to take control because God isn't doing anything, we answer with truth.

When he says, God doesn't really want what's best for you, we answer with truth.

We don't fight lies with positive thinking.

We fight lies with truth.

What Lie Are You Listening To?

Maybe the serpent has been whispering to you lately.

Maybe you've been questioning whether God really knows what's best.

Maybe you're tired of waiting and tempted to take matters into your own hands.

Maybe you've made a mistake and the enemy has convinced you that God is finished with you.

Maybe you've started believing that everyone else is worthy of God's love and grace and that somehow you've permanently disqualified yourself.

Stop for a minute.

Ask yourself:

What am I believing about God right now?

Then ask:

Does God's Word actually say that?

If the answer is no, don't keep entertaining the lie.

Confess it to the Lord.

Find the truth in His Word.

And then repeat that truth until it becomes louder than the whisper.

Because the serpent still whispers.

He still wants us to question God's goodness.

He still wants us to doubt God's Word.

He still wants us hiding in shame instead of running into the presence of our Father.

But here's the good news:

We may not be able to stop the serpent from whispering, but we don't have to believe what he says.

The God who walked with Adam and Eve in the garden is still a God who desires relationship with His people.

He is still good.

He is still faithful.

His Word is still true.

And when the enemy whispers, “Did God really say?”

We can answer:

“Yes. And I choose to believe Him.”